Ted Cassidy - Biography - IMDb Ted Cassidy Biography Showing all 21 items Jump to: Overview (4) | Mini Bio (2) | Spouse (1) | Trade Mark (2) | Trivia (10) | Personal Quotes (2) Overview (4) 6' 9" (2.06 m) Mini Bio (2) Ted Cassidy was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and raised in Philippi, West Virginia. He was a well respected actor who portrayed many different characters during his film and television career. His most notable role was Lurch, the faithful butler on the television series The Addams Family (1964). His most memorable dialogue as Lurch would be, "You rang?", whenever someone summoned him. Due to his large size, (6ft. 9in.) he portrayed larger than life characters. His deep voice, was used for narrations and for dubbing certain character's voices. His acting career spanned three decades. Ted Cassidy died in 1979 from complications following open-heart surgery. His live-in girlfriend had his remains cremated, then buried in the backyard of their Woodland Hills home. - IMDb Mini Biography By: Sujit R.

Varma Theodore Crawford "Ted" Cassidy was born on July 31, 1932 in Pittsburgh, PA, and raised in Philippi, WV. In his youth, Cassidy was academically gifted, beginning high school at an early age, and he was also on the basketball and football teams. Despite this, he was a frequent target of bullying by his much-older classmates, having already reached a height of 6'1". After graduation, Cassidy moved to attend West Virginia Wesleyan College, becoming an member of the Alpha Sigma Phi fraternity. He later attended Stetson University, where he was active in the student government and played basketball for the Stetson Hatters, averaging 17 points and 10 rebounds in three seasons (1952-55). In 1952, Cassidy became a member of the Ormond Beach, FL Live Saving Corp, and worked as a lifeguard in the Ormond Beach/Daytona Beach area. After graduating with a degree in speech and drama, he married Margaret Helen in 1956 and they moved to Dallas, TX.

His acting career started when he worked as a mid-day disc jockey on WFAA-AM, and also occasionally appeared on WFAA-TV Channel 8, playing Creech, an outer space creature on the "Dialing for Dollars" segments of Ed Hogan's afternoon movies. (Incidentally, he gave an in-studio report from the WFAA radio station on the day that John F. Kennedy was assassinated, and was among the first to interview eyewitnesses W.E. Newman, Jr. and Gayle Newman.) An accomplished musician, Cassidy moonlighted at Luby's Cafe at the Lochwood shopping center in Dallas, playing the organ to entertain patrons. In 1957, his wife Margaret gave birth to their son, Sean, and, in 1960, their daughter, Cameron, was born. Cassidy's 6' 9" height gave him an advantage in auditioning for unusual character parts, which led to his most famous role as "Lurch" in The Addams Family (1964) (1965-66).

Although the character was originally intended to be mute, Cassidy ad-libbed his signature line, "You rang?" The subtle humor and his deep voice was an immediate hit, and thereafter, it was a recurring phrase that was written into the script. Despite being an accomplished organist, the harpsichord was actually a dead keyboard that Ted pretended to play, and the actual music was dubbed by the show's theme composer, Vic Mizzy . When he wasn't on-screen, Cassidy played "Thing", the disembodied hand who assisted the Addams' household, and a crew member would fill in during Lurch's on-camera scenes. In 1965, Cassidy released a seven-inch vinyl on Capitol Records with two songs; "The Lurch", written by Gary S. Paxton, and "Wesley," written by Cliffie Stone and Scott Turner. He introduced the dance and performed the song "The Lurch" on September 11, 1965 on Shivaree (1965), and again on Halloween of the same year on Shindig! (1964), along with Boris Karloff performing "The Monster Mash".

While filming "The Addams Family", Ted found extensive work with Hanna-Barbera Studios on a recurring basis, providing dozens of cartoon character voices. Cassidy also appeared in a variety of other television shows, including a regular role on NBC's The New Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (1968) as "Injun Joe", the nemesis of Tom Sawyer and Huck. He worked with Gene Roddenberry on the original Star Trek (1966), as the voice of the menacing puppet of "Balok" in "The Corbomite Maneuver", the android "Ruk" in "What Are Little Girls Made of?" and the voice of "The Gorn" in "Arena". He also played "Isiah" in Roddenberry's post-apocalyptic drama pilots, Genesis II (1973) and Planet Earth (1974). Other appearances include The Man from U.N.C.L.E. (1964), Lost in Space (1965), Daniel Boone (1964) and as "Bigfoot" in The Six Million Dollar Man (1974).

He also narrated the opening for the TV series The Incredible Hulk (1978), including selected growls and roars during the first two seasons. His theatrical work included Mackenna's Gold (1969) and The Last Remake of Beau Geste (1977) among others, but his most memorable role was as "Harvey Logan" in Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969) in 1969 ("Rules? In a knife fight?") He also co-wrote the screenplay for 1973's The Harrad Experiment (1973), in which he made a brief appearance. Ted Cassidy died at the age of 46 on January 16, 1979 following complications from open-heart surgery. Actress Sandra Martinez took care of him during his final years, and his remains were cremated and later buried in the backyard of his Woodland Hills home. The exact location is unknown.

- IMDb Mini Biography By: mgnylander@yahoo.com Spouse (1) ( 14 June 1956 - 1975) (divorced) (2 children) Trade Mark (2) Lurch | Addams Family Wiki | Fandom powered by Wikia "You rang?" -Lurch answering Morticia 's call. Lurch (first... or last... name is unknown) is the fictional manservant to The Addams Family created by cartoonist Charles Addams . Contents [ show ] Description Lurch is a tall, shambling, lugubrious butler who somewhat resembles Frankenstein's monster (as played by Boris Karloff) and on film has a deep, resonant voice. In his first appearance in a cartoon by Charles Addams he had a black beard, but in later incarnations he was clean-shaven. Personality Although fully capable of normal speech, Lurch sometimes communicates via simple inarticulate moans, which, much like the dialogue of Cousin Itt , his employers have no trouble understanding. In fact, the Addamses often comment that Lurch is eloquent and vivacious.

Lurch helps around the house like any other butler, cleaning, repairing, helping the children on and off the school bus. Occasionally his great size and strength cause trouble. He clearly takes pride in his work and is willing to do even the most arduous task. Lurch has a profound loyalty to his employers; in turn, the family treats Lurch like one of their own. The family summons him with an ever-present bell pull (in the form of a hangman's noose). When pulled, it produces a loud gong noise that shakes the house, to which Lurch instantly responds with the line "You rang?" When the bell is rung, Lurch appears immediately (in contrast to his slow demeanor), even if wide-angle shots reveal he was clearly nowhere in the vicinity before; on a few occasions, Lurch arrives even before the bell pull is tugged. Lurch largely shares the family's macabre standards, although he occasionally looks askance at some of their activities. He has a similar attitude toward visitors – almost a sixth sense. When a plainclothes policeman (played by George Neise) visits, Lurch pats him down and removes something from inside his suit coat: his service revolver.

Lurch groans at the affront of someone other than the Addams Family bringing a weapon into the house. Neise shows Lurch his badge, and Lurch hands the gun back to him. Lurch is Wednesday 's best friend, besides her beloved headless Marie Antoinette doll. He seems to have a paternal affection for both Wednesday and Pugsley . Although his job title is limited to butler, he seems to be a "jack of all trades" when it comes to the children, doing everything from taking them to school to making them lunch to even keeping an eye on them around the house. He is close friends with the disembodied hand, Thing . Actors In the original television series, Lurch was played by Ted Cassidy, who also voiced the character in the first animated series, as well as the episode of The New Scooby-Doo Movies cartoon that preceded it. In the second animated series, Lurch was voiced by Jim Cummings. Carel Struycken played Lurch in the films. In The New Addams Family series, Lurch was portrayed by Canadian actor, John DeSantis.

Backstory Much of Lurch's history, including his first name and the nature of his relationship to any other Addamses, was originally unspecified. "Lurch" was revealed during the original TV series to be a surname, as there was a " Mother Lurch " who appeared in one episode. She addressed Lurch as "Sonny", which could either be a parental nickname or his actual first name. As for his father, he was mentioned once, and in an apparent reference to his Frankenstein-like appearance, Lurch said, smiling, "He put me together." It was stated in Addams Family Reunion that Lurch is part-Addams. This plays into his being a creation similar to Frankenstein's monster as he was made from different body parts. The only definite body part that is from an Addams is his heart. Lurch's mother appears to be a physically normal, elderly woman, although she does not see anything unusual about the Addams family or their home, with the exception of Thing .

In The New Addams Family, a woman comments to Morticia about Lurch, "Where did you dig him up?", to which Morticia responds, "Funny, I can't remember which cemetery it was." Lurch is also referenced as having "two left feet." Trivia In Spanish-speaking countries, he is known as "Largo", because of his height. In Brazil, he is known as "Tropeço" (to stumble, trip over). Lurch is often seen playing the harpsichord at virtuoso level. The actor played on a dead keyboard; Vic Mizzy , the show's musical director, played the actual tunes. 00:47 Lurch on Batman Lurch made a cameo in a 1960's Batman episode, playing the Addams family theme in the background before popping his head out after being startled by Batman. As originally conceived, Lurch was to have no lines, but in the pilot Ted Cassidy ad-libbed the line "You rang?" in his trademark deep voice, and it was so impressive it led to Lurch getting more dialogue; he ultimately had three lines in the pilot. In the films, however, Lurch was totally mute except for the occasional expressive grunt.

The animated episode Girlfriendstein gives Lurch's shoe size as 27QQQQ. Gallery Add a photo to this gallery Influence On October 30, 1965, a song and dance based on Lurch, entitled "The Lurch," were introduced on the ABC music program Shindig!. This mirrored an earlier episode of the television series, entitled "Lurch, the Teenage Idol" (which was remade in 1999 for The New Addams Family). In it, Lurch records a song on his harpsichord and becomes a pop sensation. Lurch appears in the NES game Fester's Quest. Uncle Fester can get the famous noose from Grandmama , which, when used, shakes the screen with a loud gong (just like the TV show). Lurch's picture appears, says "You rang?", and destroys all on-screen enemies. On at least two episodes of Scrubs, the Janitor (played by Neil Flynn) has been called 'Lurch' by other characters, alluding to his vague physical resemblance to the Addams Family character and certain behavioral traits they share, such as appearing out of nowhere or the jack-of-all-trades element.

The Janitor character was not initially meant to have lines, except when talking to J.D., the viewpoint character. A further similarity is that the Janitor's name is never revealed. On one occasion he even responded to a summons with "You rang?" and stated that he was imitating Lurch. Radio Talk Show host Rush Limbaugh, soon joined by other conservative pundits, used the nickname 'Lurch' to describe the 2004 Democratic Presidential nominee, Senator John Kerry of Massachusetts. TV ACRES: Character Bios > Ted Cassidy as Lurch the Butler (The Addams Family) 001 Cemetery Lane Greenbriar, USA Lurch is a towering zombie butler. He works for Gomez Addams, an eccentric cigar-smoking millionaire. Lurch performs such domestic duties as dusting strange family heirlooms and answering the call of a droning two-note fog horn that announces the arrival of guests at the front door.

When the Addams want to summon Lurch, they pull the butler's hangman-shaped bell pull dangling from the ceiling that sends out a resounding "Gong!" Lurch then enters the room and in a deep voice says "You Rang?" as well as other short groaning phrases like "Follow Me", "Mail's In", and "Yes, Mrs. Addams." In between his domestic duties, Lurch likes to play the harpsichord. Lurch's character was featured on episodes: No. 13 "Lurch Learns to Dance" when Lurch takes dance lessons so he can attend the upcoming Butlers Ball. No. 17 "Mother Lurch Visits the Addams Family" when Lurch convinces his employers to act as his servants to impress his visiting mother. No. 25 "Lurch and His Harpsichord" when Lurch is upset when the Addams donate their harpsichord to a museum. No. 33 "Lurch, the Teenage Idol" when Lurch records a song and is surrounded by screaming teenage fans. No. 61 "Lurch's Little Helper" when Lurch feels he is being replaced by the new robot butler. No.

63 "Lurch's Grand Romance" when Lurch falls in love with a family friend. Note: In the 1998 remake series we also learn that Lurch is colorblind, that Morticia dug him up in a cemetery and that once Lurch tried to smile and his face broke. Three Incarnations of Lurch the Butler Ted Cassidy So get a witches shawl on A broomstick you can crawl on We're gonna pay a call on The Addams Family. Lurch entertains the Addams TRIVIA NOTE: The deep base tone of Lurch's voice could also be heard saying "Neat, Sweet, and Petite" between stanzas of 'The Addams Family' theme song. On the October 30, 1965 Halloween episode of SHINDIG, an ABC teen rock music program, Lurch performed a dance called ï¿½ The Lurch .ï¿½ After assisting Boris Karloff with his rendition of the "Monster Mash," Lurch debuted a new dance craze called "The Lurch." The dance steps were nothing more than a lot of shuffling and arm dangling a la the Frankenstein Monster.

"The Lurch" was released as a single 45 record (Capitol 5503) with the vocals performed by Ted Cassidy [who played the role of Lurch] and a background female chorus with music by Gary Paxton. The Lurch character also appeared in the Hanna-Barbera animated cartoon The Addams Family that aired Saturday mornings on NBC from September 1973 to August 1975; "Halloween with the New Addams Family" 1977 special, a second animated Addams Family ran on Saturday mornings on ABC from September 1992 to January 1995; the motion picture remakes The Addams Family: The Movie (1991) and The Addams Family Values (1993); and the sitcom remake THE NEW ADDAMS FAMILY/FOX/1998-99 (with John DeSantis as Lurch). The Lurch character is based on the Addams Family cartoon characters created by Charles Addams for the New Yorker magazine. Happy Halloween TED CASSIDY: Born Theodore Crawford Cassidy on July 31, 1932 in Pittsburg, PA and raised in Phillippi, WV.

the 6' 9" tall Ted Cassidy began his days in the spotlight by playing college basketball at Stetson University in the 1960s and as a staff announcer for WFAA radio in Dallas where he interviewed William and Gayle Newman, witnesses to the Kennedy assassination. Cassidy's acting career included such memorable roles as Harvey Logan in the film Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid; Injun Joe in "THE NEW ADVENTURES OF HUCK FINN", Ruk, the bald android in the STAR TREK episode "What Are Little Girls Made Of?", and the narrator (uncredited) of "THE INCREDIBLE HULK" series. Ted Cassidy died January 16, 1979 in Los Angeles from complications following open-heart surgery. His cremated remains were buried in the backyard of his Woodland Hills home. THE ADDAMS FAMILY/ABC/1964-66 The Addams Family | Halloween Wiki | Fandom powered by Wikia [ show ] Magazine cartoons The Addamses first appeared in a series of one-panel cartoons by Charles Addams that appeared in The New Yorker magazine in 1938.

Cartoons featuring the characters continued to appear occasionally in The New Yorker and other publications until Charles Addams' death in 1988. At first, the only recurring characters in the cartoons were a creepy woman dressed in black (later named Morticia) and her creepy Frankenstein's monster -like butler (later named Lurch). The first published cartoon shows a traveling salesman attempting to sell a vacuum cleaner to Morticia, apparently unaware that someone who lives in what looks like a haunted house , complete with bats , is not in the market for such an item. The cast of characters was later expanded to include the woman's husband, son and daughter (later named Gomez, Pugsley and Wednesday) and other members of the extended family. Much of the humor in the cartoons is derived from the Addamses' likes and dislikes being the exact opposites of those of most people. For example, one cartoon shows Gomez looking out of the window at a violent storm and commenting to his family, "Just the kind of day that makes you feel good to be alive!" The characters are sometimes shown apparently about to commit acts of violence against other people.

One cartoon from 1947 shows Wednesday and Pugsley apparently about to throw a boulder at a passing car. A famous cartoon from December 1946, which was later adapted as the opening sequence for the 1991 movie version of The Addams Family , shows the family apparently about to pour boiling oil on a group of carol singers. 1960s TV series A comedy series based on Charles Addams' cartoons ran on ABC for two seasons from September 18, 1964 to April 8, 1966. A total of sixty-four episodes, all of them in black and white, were made. The series' original run largely coincided with that of a similar sitcom, The Munsters , which had slightly higher ratings, on CBS. John Astin (Gomez) and Carolyn Jones (Morticia) pose with a Devil statue in this 1965 publicity photo. The series starred John Astin as Gomez, Carolyn Jones as Morticia, Ted Cassidy as Lurch, Jackie Coogan as Uncle Fester, Lisa Loring as Wednesday, Ken Weatherwax as Pugsley and Blossom Rock as Grandmama.

Felix Silla made several guest appearances as Cousin Itt. Gomez is an extremely wealthy man who owns numerous companies and has shares in many others. He gives away large amounts of money freely but that does not appear to affect his wealth. His favorite hobby is crashing toy trains and he is deeply in love with his wife Morticia, becoming very excited whenever she says anything in French. Morticia is a beautiful and cultured woman. She dabbles in the arts and plays the Japanese stringed instrument the shamisen. She prunes roses by cutting the heads off them and has the magical ability to light candles with her fingers and emit smoke at will. In the TV series, Uncle Fester is Morticia's uncle. He has the ability to make electric lightbulbs light up simply by putting them in his mouth. 1966 photo of Jackie Coogan as Uncle Fester and Ted Cassidy as Lurch making a personal appearance at a Massachusetts amusement park. The family butler Lurch is summoned when the family ring a bell with a rope like a hangman's noose. He always responds by saying, "You rang?" Otherwise, he speaks very little, usually responding to each request with a grunt.

He has superhuman strength and plays the harpsichord. In the TV series, Grandmama is Gomez's mother. She appears to be a witch , taking an interest in spells and potions. She also fraudulently claims to predict the future. Wednesday is Gomez and Morticia's six year old daughter. She enjoys raising spiders , practicing ballet in a black tutu and cutting the heads of dolls. Pugsley is Wednesday's older brother. He appears to be the most normal member of the family but he enjoys playing with explosives and has a pet octopus. Cousin Itt is a short figure entirely covered by hair. His speech is a high-pitched, fast-paced stream of gibberish but it is perfectly comprehensible to the other members of the family. The Addams family are also assisted by the Thing, a disembodied hand which emerges from various boxes around the house. The Thing was usually portrayed by the hand of Ted Cassidy (who also played Lurch) but sometimes by that of assistant director Jack Voghn. The character was always listed in the show's credits as being played by itself.

The family have a pet lion called Kitty Kat, two piranhas named Tristan and Isolde and a man eating plant called Cleopatra. The family's mansion is located between a graveyard and a swamp. Their address is 0001 Cemetery Lane. However, as the theme song says, their house is more like a museum than a haunted house , it is full of antiques and works of art and appears to be clean and well maintained. Much of the humor in the show derives from the culture clash that exists between the Addamses and everybody else in the world. The family consider themselves to be perfectly ordinary and everyone else to be strange. They are always surprised when other people are shocked at their "normal" behavior. However, when other people come to their home, usually with the intention of fleecing the wealthy family, the Addamses invariably treat them with great courtesy. Most episodes end with Gomez and Morticia discovering through the newspaper or by a phone call that their recent visitor has changed jobs, left the country or been admitted to a hospital for the insane. The Addamses always interpret that as being a good thing for the person involved.

Subjects which are spoofed in the series include the legal system (in the episode "The Addams Family in Court"), the music and movie industries (in "Lurch: The Teenage Idol" and "My Fair Cousin Itt") and politics (in "Gomez: The Politician" and "Gomez: The People's Choice"). Two Halloween episodes of the series were made; "Halloween with the Addams Family" in 1964 and "Halloween - Addams Style" in 1965. 1970s animated series The Addams Family as they appear in the 1970s animated series. The first appearance of an animated version of the Addamses was in Hanna-Barbera's The New Scooby-Doo Movies in an episode called "Scooby-Doo Meets The Addams Family" (also known as "Wednesday is Missing") which first aired on CBS on September 23, 1972. All of the actors who had played the main adult characters in the 1960s TV series voiced the animated versions of the characters in the show.

The characters were drawn in immitation of the style used by Charles Addams in his New Yorker cartoons. Hanna-Barbera responded to the popularity of the episode by giving the characters their own series. A total of sixteen half-hour episodes of The Addams Family cartoon series were made. It aired on NBC between September 8, 1973 and May 11, 1974. Jackie Coogan and Ted Cassidy reprised their roles as Uncle Fester and Lurch from the 1960s live-action series but the rest of the voice cast was different. Lennie Weinrib voiced Gomez, Janet Waldo voiced Morticia and Grandmama (called "Granny" in the series) and Cindy Henderson voiced Wednesday. A young, and not yet famous, Jodie Foster voiced Pugsley. In the series, the Addams family tour the USA in a strange vehicle which resembles a haunted house on wheels. The relationship between some of the characters is different to that in the 1960s TV series. Uncle Fester changes from being Morticia's uncle to being Gomez's brother and Granny is the mother of Morticia instead of Gomez.

The series also introduced two new family pets; an alligator named Ali and an octopus named Ocho. Movies A Halloween -themed TV movie, Halloween with the New Addams Family , aired on NBC on October 30, 1977. With the exception of Blossom Rock, who due to illness gave up her role as Grandmama to Jane Rose, all of the main cast members from the 1960s TV series reprised their roles in the special. Lisa Loring and Ken Weatherwax, who had played Wednesday and Pugley as children, return to play the parts as young adults. Two new child characters,Gomez and Morticia's younger daughter and son Wednesday, Jr. (played by Jennifer Surprenant) and Pugsley, Jr. (played by Ken Marquis), are added. Elvia Allman appears as Grandmama Frump, Morticia's mother, and Henry Darrow appears as Gomez's brother Pancho. The special was intended as a pilot for a series that was never made. The movie The Addams Family was released in 1991.

It stars Raul Julia as Gomez, Anjelica Huston as Morticia, Christina Ricci as Wednesday, Jimmy Workman as Pugsley, Judith Malina as Grandmama, Carel Struycken as Lurch and Christopher Lloyd as Fester. The hand of Christopher Hart appears as Thing. The movie is the first version of The Addams Family in which Thing appears not as an arm that emerges from a box but as a fully mobile hand with no arm, or any other body parts, attached. As in the 1973 animated series, and unlike in the 1960s live-action series, Uncle Fester is Gomez's brother rather than Morticia's uncle in the movie. Grandmama appears to be Morticia's mother because there are references to both of Gomez's parents being dead. A sequel featuring the same cast, except for Judith Malina who was replaced in her role as Grandmama by Carol Kane, Addams Family Values, was released in 1993. Gomez and Morticia's baby son Pubert is played by Kaitlyn and Kristen Hooper. The humor in the sequel is rather more macabre than in the 1991 movie.

A third movie was planned but was abandonned after the sudden death of Raul Julia. Addams Family Reunion was released straight-to-video in 1998. Although Christopher Hart and Carel Struycken reprise their roles as Thing and Lurch in Addams Family Reunion, it is not a sequel to the two previous movies. The movie was intended as a reboot of the franchise and a pilot for a new TV series, proving that it was possible to create visual effects similar to those in the 1991 and 1993 movies on a much smaller budget. It stars Tim Curry as Gomez, Daryl Hannah as Morticia, Nicole Fugere as Wednesday, Jerry Messing as Pugsley and Patrick Thomas as Uncle Fester. It features Estelle Harris as Grandmama and Phil Fondcaro as Cousin Itt. A TV series based on the movie, The New Addams Family, was made but Nicole Fugere was the only member of the movie's cast to appear in it. An as yet unproduced stop-motion animation film, based on Charles Addams' original Addams Family cartoons from The New Yorker, was announced in 2010.

Tim Burton's name has been connected to the project. 1990s animated series The Addams Family as they appear in the 1990s animated series. Following the success of the 1991 movie version of The Addams Family, Hanna-Barbera began the development of a second animated series based around the characters. The series ran for two seasons on ABC between September 12, 1992 and November 6, 1993. A total of twenty-one half hour episodes were made, most of which are made up of three different self-contained stories. John Astin reprised his role as Gomez from the 196os TV series. Morticia was voiced by Nancy Linan, Uncle Fester by Rip Taylor, Grandmama by Carol Channing, Lurch by Jim Cummings, Wednesday by Debi Derryberry, Pugsley by Jeannie Elias, Cousin Itt by Pat Fraley, Norman Normameyer by Rob Paulsen, Normina Normameyer by Edie McClurg and NJ Normameyer by Dick Beals.

In the series, the Addamses live in a normal suburb in the town of Happy Dale Heights and regularly face threats from people who want to force them out of their home or capture one of them for villainous purposes. The principal antagonists in the series are the Addamses' neighbors the Normameyers. Norman Normameyer, the owner of a company which makes underwear, and his wife Normina hate the Addamses and are constantly trying to either persuade them or force them to move out of the suburb. Their son, NJ, however, is a friend of Pugsley and Wednesday. As a consequence, there is often friction between NJ and his parents and between the two families. Most stories end with the conflict between the Addamses and the Normameyers being temporarily resolved. Gomez suggests that everyone joins in a family dance. Fester points out that it is impossible to do the dance that Gomez suggested because it requires some strange equipment that they do not have to hand. Gomez suggests another dance which is performed instead. Cousin Itt is reimagined as a government agent who is constantly pursued by two spies.

As in the 1991 movie and unlike in the 1970s cartoon, in which it appears as an arm in a box, Thing appears in the 1990s cartoon as a fully mobile disembodied hand. The characeters' appearance was redesigned for the series, although they still bear some resemblance to Charles Addams' original New Yorker cartoon characters. The series includes one Halloween episode called "Puttergeist" which first aired on October 31, 1992. The New Addams Family The New Addams Family ran for two seasons between October 19, 1998 and August 28, 1999. A total of sixty-five episodes were made. The series was made in Canada and originally aired on YTV in that country and Fox Family in the United States. The series stars Glenn Taranto as Gomez, Ellie Harvie as Morticia, Michael Roberts as Uncle Fester, Betty Philips as Grandmama (given the name of Eudora Addams), Nicole Fugere as Wednesday, Brody Smith as Pugsley, John De Santis as Lurch, Paul Dobson as Cousin Itt and the hand of Steve Fox as Thing.

John Astin makes a guest appearance as Gomez's grandfather. The episodes' scripts are based on those of the 1960s TV series but updated to include appropriate references for a 1990s audience. The character of Wednesday more closely resembles the slightly menacing girl from the 1991 and 1993 movie versions than the quiet child from the 1960s sitcom. The first episode to air was a Halloween special , "Halloween with the Addams Family" , a remake of the 1964 episode of the same name . Other adaptations 01:04 The Addams Family Tour (2012) - Open-ended Trailer for The Addams Family Tour Promotional video for the North American tour of the musical The Addams Family. Fully licensed video from Fandom Video . A musical based on Charles Addams' New Yorker cartoons, rather than on the TV series or the movies, was first performed in Chicago in 2009 before transferring to Broadway in 2010. The book is by Michael Brickman and Rick Elice and the music and lyrics are by Andrew Lippa.

The original Broadway cast included Nathan Lane as Gomez, Bebe Neuwirth as Morticia, Kevin Chamberlin as Uncle Fester, Jackie Hoffman as Grandmama, Krysta Rodriguez as Wednesday, Adam Riegler as Pugsley and Zachary James as Lurch. The show toured the US and Canada and has also been performed in Australia and Brazil. The plot deals with disruption that is caused in the family after Wednesday falls in love with a "normal" boy named Lucas Beineke. Two novels based on the TV series were published in 1965. The characters have also appeared in television commercials in the United States and Japan and in numerous video games. A pinball game based on the 1991 movie was the best selling pinball game of all time. External links Entries for the 1964 , 1973 , 1992 and 1998 TV series of The Addams Family on the Internet Movie Database. Entries for the 1964 , 1973 , 1992 and 1998 TV series of The Addams Family on TV.com.

Ted Cassidy - IMDb IMDb Actor | Writer | Soundtrack Ted Cassidy was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and raised in Philippi, West Virginia. He was a well respected actor who portrayed many different characters during his film and television career. His most notable role was Lurch, the faithful butler on the television series The Addams Family (1964). His most memorable dialogue as Lurch would be, "... See full bio » Born: a list of 42 people created 22 Jun 2011 a list of 44 people created 27 Dec 2012 a list of 39 images created 19 May 2014 a list of 44 people created 31 Jul 2015 a list of 35 people created 7 months ago Do you have a demo reel? Add it to your IMDbPage How much of Ted Cassidy's work have you seen? User Polls 1977-1982 The Incredible Hulk (TV Series) Narrator / Hulk / Narrator, Hulk - A Minor Problem (1982) ... Narrator (voice, uncredited) - Triangle (1981) ...

Narrator (voice, uncredited) - Sanctuary (1981) ... Narrator (voice, uncredited) - Race for Life (1978) ... Montaro (voice) - Suspicion (1978) ... Montaro (voice) 1978 Dr. Strange (TV Movie) Demon Balzaroth (voice, uncredited) 1978 Man from Atlantis (TV Series) Canja 1978 Dinky Dog (TV Series) Additional Voices 1977 Space Sentinels (TV Series) Agent Kronos 1974 Planet Earth (TV Movie) Isiah 1973 Genesis II (TV Movie) Isiah 1973 Hec Ramsey (TV Series) Mountain Man Pete - Mystery of the Yellow Rose (1973) ... Mountain Man Pete 1973 Banacek (TV Series) 1968 Daniel Boone (TV Series) Gentle Sam - Galactus (1967) ... Galactus (voice, uncredited) 1967 Insight (TV Series) 1967 Super President (TV Series) Spy Shadow (voice) 1967 Mr.

Terrific (TV Series) Bojo 1967 The Beverly Hillbillies (TV Series) Mr. Ted - The Dahlia Feud (1967) ... Mr. Ted 1967 Laredo (TV Series) 1967 The Monroes (TV Series) Teddy Larch 1966 Lost in Space (TV Series) Slave 1972 Charcoal Black (additional dialogue) Hide 1965 Hollywood a Go Go (TV Series) (performer - 1 episode) - Episode #1.48 (1965) ... (performer: "The Lurch", "Wesley") 1965 Shindig! (TV Series) (performer - 1 episode) - Episode #2.14 (1965) ... (performer: "Get on the Right Track, Bobby") Hide Personal Details Other Works: (1970s) Played a bartender in a Lite Beer commercial featuring Wilt Chamberlain . At the end of the commercial, Cassidy sarcastically called Chamberlain "shorty". See more » Publicity Listings: Did You Know?

Personal Quote: "If I'm up for a part if, I'm asked to play something, I really worry what I'm going to be because they always make fellows like me the big dumb galoot, the oaf who doesn't know anything, who trips over himself. We are apparently idiots, all big men. You end up never leading anybody to anything. You end up holding people, while the boss hits them in the face -- scratching your head a lot ... See more » Trivia: Worked as a lifeguard in Ormond Beach, Florida during the 1950s. See more » Trademark: Incredibly deep basso profundo voice See more » Star Sign: The Addams Family House Where Every Night is Halloween Are you hooked? Take my quiz to find out. If you love houses as much as I do, then I bet you can't click just one! - Julia 10.31.10 The Addams Family House, Where Every Night is Halloween If you grew up watching The Addams Family on TV, snap your fingers. When I recently made a reference to the show and my kids had no idea what I was talking about, I immediately rented the first season and made let them watch it.

They were fascinated by the Addams Family’s wonderfully “ooky” house. Let’s take a closer look! The Addams Family House on Cemetery Lane The show was based on cartoons by Charles Addams published in The New Yorker. For the pilot, they shot at an old house in L.A. that’s since been torn down. Here’s a photo of the house via a blog that has more information about the house and its history: Starting with the second episode, a matte painting based on that house was used for the show: The mansion was “advantageously” located at 001 Cemetery Lane between a graveyard and a swamp. The sign on the front gate warns “Beware of the Thing” The Thing was a bodiless hand that appeared out of various boxes throughout the house to help the family whenever needed, from answering phones to disarming burglers. In the cartoons, Thing was a bodiless head, but they changed it for the TV show. The hand belonged to Ted Cassidy, who also played the butler Lurch: Cassidy was 6’9″ tall and looked pretty imposing on the show.

The actors who played Pugsley and Wednesday said they were never afraid of him, though, because he was such a “gentle and eloquent man–very kind to us.” Lurch was never supposed to speak, but when rehearsing the pilot Cassidy reportedly improvised the now-famous, “You rang?” in his low voice, and it stuck. A front yard and porch set was used for close-ups: John Astin played Gomez Addams, the patriarch of the family. The set designers painted a stuffed polar bear black, which dominates the corner of the room. The giraffe in this portrait was referred to as a family ancestor in one episode: The mounted fish with a leg sticking out of its mouth always generates a startled response from visitors: Gomez leads the visitor through the living room, unaware of how freaked out he is by everything: Oddly enough, as set photos show, the living room was actually pink! It looked a lot creepier in black and white: Gomez and Morticia chat in his and hers chairs beside the two-headed turtle.

Those wicker chairs with the wide, rounded backs, became popular for awhile and were often referred to as “The Morticia Chair.” In the first season’s Halloween episode, Pugsley and Wednesday dress up like “normal people,” and Morticia finds their costumes to be “a little too startling.” Uncle Fester advises them not to frighten the neighbors too much: “When you knock on peoples’ doors, you’d better say, ‘Do not be alarmed. We are only little children.'” “Kitty Cat” was played by a retired circus lion. They loved to play footage of him coming down the stairs: Wednesday’s favorite toy was her headless Marie Antoinette doll. Lisa Loring, the actress who played her, says she is frequently asked whether she was allowed to keep it. She wasn’t. In fact, in the DVD commentary, the cast says that someone broke into the closed set and stole most of the props as soon as the show was canceled. No one knows what happened to most of them. Morticia (Carolyn Jones) spent a lot of a time in the conservatory with wild plants like the meat-eating Cleopatra. Did you know Carolyn Jones was once married to Aaron Spelling?

When Pugsley finds a puppy to play with, his family is scandalized (they call it the p-u-p-p-y instead of actually saying the word). Morticia worries that he is neglecting his pet octopus, Aristotle. Gomez loves his trains (blowing them up, that is). The chemistry between Morticia and Gomez was considered a little edgy at the time for a sitcom, even though they were a married couple. After all, Rob and Laura Petrie were still sleeping in twin beds over on “The Dick Van Dyke Show.” In one episode, Morticia tells Gomez, “When we’re together, darling, every night is Halloween.” Wednesday’s bedroom is more Victorian B&B than spooky: Pugsley’s room is described to a visitor as “The door at the top of the stairs with the baby vultures painted on it.” Uncle Fester worries that the kids are spoiled, asking, “What other boy has a playroom like this?” The show only ran for 2 seasons in the 1960s, but its popularity grew in syndication. If it had been picked up for a third season, they would’ve shot it in color.

You can read more about the show and the cartoons by Charles Addams in Stephen Cox’s book The Addams Chronicles . Was this one of your favorites as a kid, too? 🙂 P.S. Visit Houses Onscreen to see more, including…

Question: Originally played by Ted Cassidy, what was the name of the butler in The Addams Family'?
Answer: Lurch